We’ve come to expect the Lions’ coaching staff to bring the “juice,” as they like to call it — Duce Staley talking trash to the defense, Aaron Glenn and Aubrey Pleasant feeding it back to the offense, Dan Campbell grinning as he takes it all in. This team needed that jolt of energy last season because everything was so new and the roster was so, so young.

This year? That “juice” could be a lot more organic, provided by players who’ve bought into the culture and a roster with much improved competition across the board. There will be energy throughout the Lions’ workouts this spring and summer, because the players who don’t bring it … well, they won’t be on the roster for long.

Several Lions had no choice but to take it easy during the first round of OTAs, including Taylor Decker (playing it cautious with a foot injury), Jeff Okudah and first-round pick Jameson Williams. The vast majority of the 90-man roster, however, was present and active Thursday, as the Lions closed their practice week.

Last May, Jared Goff looked like someone on his first day of school in a state 5,000 miles from home. That vibe wore off in time, as is always the case. But Goff’s situation a year ago was different and the vibe lasted longer. Confidence was fragile. We all know the story.

Now? He looks like a guy who’s lived here long enough to know all the shortcuts on his way to work. On the field, in games, is where we’ll ultimately judge Goff. But he wasn’t going to make an ounce of progress as a football player until he settled his mind, got comfortable with his surroundings and allowed himself to reset. That’s what 2021 was for.

We’ll see how it goes, but the 2022 version of Goff already looks infinitely more loose and at ease with everyone and everything around him.

It’s curl szn for D’Andre Swift. pic.twitter.com/XKQ430vAa0

— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) May 26, 2022

D’Andre Swift looked significantly bigger and more cut, especially his upper body, during Thursday’s workout. It’s hard to guess whether he’s added weight, but he’s definitely added muscle. And at least from observations on one afternoon, he didn’t appear to lose any of his trademark speed or wiggle.

Swift remains the most talented player in this group. Jamaal Williams’ presence and role is important. But Swift is Detroit’s best offensive playmaker and it’s obvious. A year ago, both running backs coach Duce Staley and former offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn spent a lot of time harping on details with Swift. Pushing him, at times, harder than anybody else on the field because of how special a player he can be.

That’s still happening with Staley. When rookie running back Greg Bell (who had a good day) beat Swift in a one-on-one foot speed drill, Staley leapt into the air with joy before playfully — but also seriously — letting Swift know a rookie had just got him. This could be a massive year for Swift. So far, it appears he’s completely here for it and the Lions are doing all they can to continue pushing him.

The biggest observation with DJ Chark isn’t his burst and speed showing up (no surprise there), it’s that he’s allowed to enter this situation as a new player with guys around him who already know what’s going on.

While Staley is clearly pushing Swift to see if he’s ready to take charge of his room, no one has to challenge Amon-Ra St. Brown with regard to this. He remains nothing but professional. Every rep is all effort, all the way through the whistle. He doesn’t cut corners or skip steps and while Kalif Raymond’s physical stature limits the ceiling of his on-field impact, he works the same way.

That’s the culture now with Antwaan Randle El’s group. There are new faces, but Chark and Josh Reynolds — who joined the team midway through 2021 — are also serious pros who show up to work. The other notable was Quintez Cephus. Cephus always has a knack for making guys look foolish in shorts with his strength and burst, but can he be consistent once pads come on? The age-old question.

T.J. Hockenson was absent from Thursday’s practice (per a team spokesman, he was sick), but the fourth-year tight end has been with the team during OTAs this week. Present and accounted for. On the field Thursday, Brock Wright got a chance to carry the bulk of the starter’s reps.

But this entire group still feels a bit thin. Which, in time, could be concerning. Rookie James Mitchell was at practice but is still recovering from a knee injury. We’ll see where he’s at when he’s ready.

Overall, it’s hard to get a serious look at what these guys can offer without pads. But right now, the Lions are still very much in the process of finding anything at the position behind Hockenson.

Decker was held out as a precaution Thursday, though if the Lions had a game the left tackle would’ve been healthy enough to play. So Detroit’s true starting five wasn’t on the field together, but they’re all in the building and preparing to be fully operational come fall camp. Which, for this team, is a huge deal.

Frank Ragnow is back healthy, moving around well and showing no issues after last year’s foot injury. Halapoulivaati Vaitai, who played in 16 games last year after a mess of a 2020 season, looks significantly slimmer — in a good way. If he can stay healthy and increase his mobility, that would be a huge win for Detroit.

We’ll close with, perhaps, the most important note here and that’s on Penei Sewell. The second-year offensive tackle spent time on the left and right side Thursday with Decker out. He’ll continue to have that versatility chip in his arsenal and two years in, he says he feels much more comfortable with everything. He’s also — if you can believe it — stronger today than he was a year ago. Sewell said he’s added weight (only he and Campbell are privy to that number, he said) after spending a ton of time this offseason working on strength gains, specifically his lower half.

The 21-year-old Sewell — already known for his advanced strength at such a young age — still moves like a man far south of 300 pounds. If he’s bigger, stronger and still as fast as he was a year ago? Uh, that’ll work.

Decker didn’t practice and the offensive line, as a whole, can’t really block much until the pads go on at training camp. But Campbell said Thursday that the “biggest difference that anybody will notice” in the Lions’ schematic changes would be how much more aggressive the D-line can be.

“We just were a little more, ‘Play at the line of scrimmage,’ where now we really want to play more on their side of the line of scrimmage,” Campbell said. “That’s the best way to describe it.”

Even in Thursday’s padless practice, that came through. The front was disruptive on almost every snap, starting with UDFA Demetrius Taylor picking off a Tim Boyle pass during a half-speed, walkthrough drill to open the day. Jashon Cornell later swatted down a ball at the line, as did Levi Onwuzurike; Bruce Hector knifed through a gap to create pressure; Austin Bryant — seeing reps as a pass-rushing three-tech — caused some trouble.

Onwuzurike’s quickness still pops. If he can stay healthy, there’s no telling how much he might be able to improve this season. Bryant was getting off the ball in a hurry, too. The depth chart suggests he’ll be on the bubble, but playing inside and out would increase his odds to stick.

And, as for Aidan Hutchinson … well, if Thursday was any indication, the Lions won’t be able to play him against the second- or third-team O-lines much, come minicamp and training camp. Paired with Josh Paschal inside for a NASCAR package (Jarrad Davis and James Houston were standing up off the edge), Hutchinson fired off the ball for what might have been three consecutive sacks, had the action been fully live. The last two of those convincing wins came against Ferris State guard Zein Obeid and center Ryan McCollum.

Campbell mentioned that the Lions don’t want to rush Hutchinson, to push him into a starting or high-leverage role well before he’s ready. But they’re also going to test him this summer. He already seems like he’ll be an absolute handful as an interior pass rusher. Can he show that same burst off the edge?

“This is where I think Hutch will have a big advantage, is the fact that he’s going to have to go against Sewell and Decker every day,” Campbell said. “I think that’s huge. I think that will play more into his development than a lot of other things. I feel like he’s going to be going against quality tackles, so that in itself, I think, can excel his progression.”

Two absences up front: veteran defensive tackle Michael Brockers and nose tackle John Penisini. A reminder here that these OTAs are voluntary. Neither player participated in last summer’s earliest workouts, either.

Campbell did note that Romeo Okwara is “progressing” from his Achilles injury, but he wasn’t spotted out at practice. So, at least relative to what Okudah showed, Okwara might be a bit further behind.

Campbell said this competition will be a “bloodbath,” because the Lions have so many options — there were 11 players going through linebacker drills Thursday.

“It puts pressure on you,” said Derrick Barnes, who worked mostly with the first defense, next to Alex Anzalone. “… We all have the same mindset: We want to be the guy, want to be the green dot. Everybody’s bringing their ‘A’ game every day.”

During positional work, the linebackers split into two groups — from the looks of it, an off-ball section and then hybrid/edge. How it was sorted out:

• ILB/off-ball: Anzalone, Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, Josh Woods, Chris Board, Shaun Dion Hamilton

• Hybrid: Julian Okwara, Davis, Houston, Natrez Patrick, Anthony Pittman

Okwara and Houston both cycled over for a few reps with the inside linebacker group, as the players there worked on reading and defending tight end slot routes. The plan with that pair, in particular, appears to be to leave as many options on the table as possible. Which is smart.

A moment the coaches will love: Houston took a misstep on one of those coverage reps, so Okwara took him off to the side to show him what he should be looking for when his man releases off the line. Tracy Walker provided a similar assist to Ifeatu Melifonwu early in the day.

It was almost unfair to UDFA offensive tackle Obinna Eze to draw Davis during team drills. Eze is a prospect with a lot of physical upside, but Davis’ explosion off the edge is among his best qualities. This defense should let him do some of that.

Rodriguez, a rookie, is further down the depth chart, for now. But file away what linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard told DetroitLions.com’s Tim Twentyman: “He’s one of the smarter young players I’ve ever been around.”

DB work pic.twitter.com/S7T8ysAhJX

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) May 26, 2022

A handful of noteworthy developments in the secondary, not the least of which being that Okudah (Achilles) took part in those install/walkthrough drills and was jogging off to the side as the Lions moved to seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 work. He even took a brief dance break as the practice music blared, so the early signs are positive there.

The other big ones: Will Harris sure as heck seems to have stuck as a corner who can play safety. Second-year defensive back Ifeatu Melifonwu, meanwhile, might now be a safety who can play corner.

When Okudah had to retreat to the sideline, Harris handled the top cornerback reps, opposite Amani Oruwariye. He made a couple of nice plays from that spot, breaking up both an out and a deep fade to Chark and, at the tail end of practice, picking one off.

“At this point, I’m just going wherever I’m asked,” Harris said. “From last year, I (showed) that I’m able to move around a little bit and play different spots on the field. I’m keeping that side open-minded … still learning safety, corner, nickel, all of that. It varies on the team’s needs.”

Melifonwu could be very interesting as a safety — that move always felt like a natural one for him, based on his athletic profile. The scheme he played in at Syracuse asked him to do a lot of safety-esque read-and-react on balls in front of him, as well. He flipped back to cornerback for reps on Sunday, on top of those safety duties.

That safety competition is another one that figures to be wide open, at least behind Walker and DeShon Elliott — they paired on the top line Thursday. Rookie Kerby Joseph and C.J. Moore stepped in second, but there’s very little set in stone.

Keep an eye on late 2021 waiver claim Brady Breeze, primarily because of what he can do on special teams. He excelled in that area last season, after arriving from Tennessee, and he made a “tackle” during a one-on-one return drill that had Aaron Glenn shouting his praises.

(Top photo of Jared Goff: Paul Sancya / Associated Press)